AAL type 2 switching as a resource saving variant of ATM based switching methods requires virtual channel connections (VCC, in the following called ‘AAL type 2 path’ or simply ‘path’.) as bearers of AAL type 2 connections. The AAL type 2 paths may be provided as permanent paths (PVC VCC), or as switched paths (SVC VCC), or as soft PVC VCC. It is an object of the invention to enable network elements to set up SVC paths in a flexible, dynamical and anticipatory way according to the traffic volume carried by the network, and to release SVC paths when the traffic volume is decreasing.
Known solutions exclusively use PVCs as paths. There are no solution providers or publications known which are using, or do intend to use SVCs as paths.